Critics, though, still point to uncertainties about consumer adoption and
the viability of the still-emerging broadband alternative.

One of the earliest adopters of broadband over powerlines is the city of
Manassas in Virginia, which has signed a deal with local utility
Communication Technologies to extend broadband services across the city's
powerlines to 15,000 residential and commercial locations for less than $30
(£16) a month.

Communication Technologies vice-president Walter Adams said since the
company had begun installing the equipment in September, it had penetrated
10% of the coverage area. Under the deal, the company pays the capital cost
of installation and provides customer care and billing support, while the
city provides field technicians to install the equipment and 60 miles of
fibre optics for the Ethernet-based backbone.

Revenue is shared between the city and the utility and Adams said he
anticipated a return on the $1.5m investment within three to seven years.

But other energy executives were sceptical about the financial returns from
investing in broadband over powerlines.

Phil Slack of Florida Power & Light said his company had had to replace
2,000 miles of powerlines and 13,000 poles after four hurricanes hit Florida
this summer. "There is broadband powerline equipment that you have to add to
poles, and you have to factor that into your thinking," he said.

Slack also said above-ground power equipment exposed to saltwater and
humidity along the coast was vulnerable to rusting. "We haven't gone to a
full-scale market trial yet," he said. "The technology isn't ready yet for
Florida, although it's getting close."

Factors that favour the technology include last month's FCC ruling to allow
electric utilities to provide broadband over powerline services so long as
they adhere to powerline radiation-emission restrictions and follow
consistent and repeatable measurement guidelines.

"The FCC has essentially given us the green light to go forward," said Brett
Kilbourne of the United Power Line Council, an alliance of electric
utilities and technology companies involved in broadband over powerlines.
Before the ruling, there were concerns that transmissions would interfere
with ham radio and other shortwave radio communications.

Power companies also hope that broadband investments will allow them to
support their own applications such as load forecasting, demand management
and the ability to predict and correct electrical equipment failures before
they occur.

"It's like having a real-time asset management system," said Tim Frost,
director of corporate planning at Consolidated Edison, which is about to
launch trials of utility applications using broadband services in Manhattan.

Thomas Hoffman writes for Computerworld

~~~~~~~~

Utilities Switch On Broadband Over Powerlines

Christian Harris digital-lifestyles.info

Broadband over Powerline (BPL) is an emerging technology that may shake up
the competitive world of broadband Internet and Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) services. It offers high-speed access to your home through the most
unlikely path, a common electrical outlet, allowing you to plug your
computer into any electrical outlet in your home and instantly have access
to high-speed Internet.

Combining the technological principles of radio, wireless networking and
modems, the technology can be used to send data over power lines and into
homes at speeds equivalent to DSL and cable. In Singapore, Pacific Internet
is one of two ISPs trialling the technology in conjunction with Singapore
Power. The Singapore trial is currently sustaining connection speeds of
2.2Mbit/s - faster than Telstra ADSL. Elsewhere in the world, power lines
are running at 4.5Mbit/s, and ultimately the technology supports speeds of
up to 10Mbit/s. It also allows utilities to tap existing infrastructure
cheaply, fill market gaps in underserved regions and benefit from plummeting
equipment costs.

For instance, the city of Manassas in Virginia has signed a deal with local
utility Communication Technologies to extend broadband services across the
city’s powerlines to 15,000 residential and commercial locations for less
than $30 (£16) a month. Revenue is then shared between the city and the
utility, as long as they adhere to powerline radiation-emission restrictions
and follow consistent and repeatable measurement guidelines set out by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

It’s not all been going smoothly for the new technology though. The two
test plants near Rochester, NY, both pulled the plug on their setups when
the cost analysis came in. There was a major interference issue on BPL also,
but the final argument was decided due to the money.

Summary: This bill would provide 10 or 20 percent tax credits for
investments infrastructure capable of delivering current or next generation
broadband speeds to rural or underserved subscribers. A recent amendment
introduced by Sen. Kennedy sets thresholds for current generation speeds at
1 Mbps downstream and 200 Kbps upstream. Other conditions for qualifying
apply, including eligibility as a carrier.

Status: The amendment was offered to the Energy Recovery Act, but was NOT
included in the law. Sen. Kennedy is considering other communications
bills to which the amendment could be offered. During a meeting with Sen.
Kennedy's office, staffperson indicated a willingness to include language
that would enable PLC providers to take advantage of the credit.

2. H. 267 Broadband Internet Act of 2001 (Companion bill is S88)

Summary: Information to be provided at Board Meeting

3. S150 Broadband Deployment Act of 2001.

Summary: Information to be provided at Board meeting.

4. HR. 1542 Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001

(Tauzin-Dingell):

Summary: This bill would allow the Bell Companies and other ILECs to offer
Internet access across LATA boundaries without restrictions that otherwise
apply under Section 271 to voice grade services.

Status: The House of Representatives has passed the Tauzin-Dingell bill,
and the measure is pending in the Senate, where Sen. Hollings is staunchly
opposed to any such relief. However, Sen. Breaux has introduced his own
bill, which would give the FCC only enforcement authority to regulate such
services without actually prohibiting Bell Companies from offering them.

1. Affiliate Transactions. States may treat the use of existing power
lines to provide communications as a transfer of an asset from the
regulated parent to a communications subsidiary. That approach and the
specific value assigned to the assets used will significantly impact the
business case for deploying PLC. Therefore, the UPLC encourages its
members to report developments with respect to asset valuations,
particularly regarding PLC.

2. Right-of-way regulations. States have jurisdiction to manage the use
of public rights of way in a neutral and nondiscriminatory manner and to
recover the costs associated with managing those rights of way. To the
extent that state and local regulators impose fees for the use of existing
utility ROW for PLC the business case would be significantly impacted.
Therefore, the UPLC encourages its members to report developments with
respect to franchise and other fees assessed for the use of public ROW,
particularly regarding utility communications operations.

3. Health and Safety issues. States have jurisdiction to enforce
reasonable health and safety requirements on PLC. Some states have reacted
to political pressure by restricting emissions from communications devices
that are located in residential environments. To the extent that PLC
emissions would be restricted by States it would significantly affect the
business case for its deployment. Therefore, the UPLC encourages its
members to report developments in this area.

My name is Uriel Cohen, Manager for Technology at the Columbia Institute
for Tele-Information here at Columbia University in New York. We do
research in many different aspects of telecommunications, and we are
currently invovled in a project on Power Line Communications.

We would like to publicize our upcoming
conference on Power LIne Communications.